Copyright 2018​

What happens to a girl and the woman she will become when she's given a biblical name

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Great Pipestone Quarry

Charles A. Eastman's story, "The River People," is set at the Great Pipestone Quarry in southeastern Minnesota. These are some of the disoveries my husband and I made as we revisited this sacred place.

Winnewissa Falls

While these waterfalls undoubtedly existed when Red Hunters and the Animals People was published in 1906, they have since been widened and flattened to create a more aesthetically pleasing image. A walkway across the bottom flow of the falls has also been added.

Great Pipestone Quarry Trail

The U.S. National Park Service maintains a walking trail around the Great Pipestone Quarry. This image shows some of the layering of quartzite above the pipestone.

Pipestone Creek as it flows away from the waterfall

It was nice being able to stand at the foot of the Winnewissa Falls to photograph their beauty, even as the water flows away.

Know Your Rock

Beauty is also found in the layering of the rock, which helps novices learn the differences between quartzite and pipestone.

The Oracle

The National Park Service provides a narrow and steep stair case cut into the rock, so visitors can climb higher to get a better perspective of the Oracle Rock, but my hips and knees would not allow me that climb, so here is a face-on view.

Stone People

Some myths claim that the red clay that forms the sacred pipestone comes from the "Red Nations People" who died during a cataclysmic event. One woman survived (here in stone), married a Star Nations man, and gave birth to the Eagle Nation.

Pipestone Creek

This beautiful creek meanders away from the Winnewissa Falls toward the U.S. National Park Service's building.

Onward Toward the Plains

Pipestone Creek leaving the National Park, heading toward the open plains.